Generally, a food guard is used to protect food that is to be served from a food service station. The food guard protects the food from contamination from the breath of customers that are requesting or self-serving food from a fast food bar, cafeteria food bar, or other similar food bar. Generally, a food service station includes a food service line or counter that includes some or all of the following: hot or cold food pans, soup wells, chafing dishes, and a breath protection device or sneeze guard. The food guard is typically attached to the food service counter. The food guard is positioned to protect the food from airborne bacteria, contaminants, the breath, sneezing, or coughing of customers. The food guard has a transparent shield made of glass or other material, which is attached to a support structure. The shield ensures protection of the food while often allowing accessibility as well.
In order for a food guard to be effective, it must intersect what is considered the “breath zone.” This zone is determined by 1) constructing an imaginary vertical line from the front edge of a serving counter up to a height of about 4′-6″ and about 5′-6″ from the floor and 2) constructing an imaginary line from the 4′-6″ intersection to the front edge of the food zone and 3) constructing an imaginary line from the 5′-6″ height to the rear edge of the food zone. The food zone is the area where exposed food will be displayed—generally a food pan, soup well, chafing dish, or similar device that is generally set back about 3″ to about 6″ from the front edge of the counter. A glass shield or barrier must intersect the breath zone in order to prevent the contamination of food from airborne bacteria from the breath of customers. As well, per health code requirements such as Underwriter Laboratories (UL) Sanitation Code and National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 2, a food shield must have minimal gaps, cracks, and the like that may trap food particles and other materials that can possibly cause contamination of the food. Existing permanent food guard designs frequently have gaps between the food shields and support structure that do not meet the noted health standards.
In general, food guards are custom designed for a particular food service station with which they are to be used. As such, typical food guards tend to be individually constructed systems that do not include interchangeable parts that are easily removed and/or added to the overall structure. Therefore, existing food guards are not expandable or adaptable such that they can accommodate changes to the lay out of the food service station, i.e., the addition of additional food items and serving trays. Moreover, the existing custom designed food guards do not lend themselves to timely repairs by the owner because the individual pieces are not interchangeable. Therefore, to either expand or repair existing food guards frequently requires the services of a third party and the construction of an entirely new food guard.
As well, food guards are frequently used for different applications in a number of different circumstances. One circumstance involves using the food guard in an attendant-serving mode. In this mode, the customer is restricted from being able to touch or reach the food by way of a transparent shield, which can be in any of a number of configurations. However, the attendant can hand the food to the customer over the top of the food guard or under the guard if there is enough clearance between the food guard and the counter of the food-serving device. Another circumstance in which a food guard can be used is in a self-serve mode. Here, the shield of the food guard is angled or positioned so that a customer can serve himself food through the clearance between the shield and the food service device. The shield still provides protection from contamination from the breath of the customer because it is positioned so as to intersect the “breath zone.” The angle of the shield may need to be varied depending on the position of the food in the food serving station and the customer. Food that is farther away from the customer requires sufficient clearance between the shield and the food service station to enable access to the food. Therefore, depending on the circumstance, more or less clearance may be needed to allow accessibility, while maintaining “breath zone” coverage. In addition, different degrees of accessibility are often needed from meal to meal and from event to event thereby requiring a food guard that is adjustable.
Generally, the shields of currently used food guards are in fixed, non-adjustable positions (e.g., in the vertical or angled position). A disadvantage to this arrangement is that different types of food guards are required for different serving circumstances, thereby increasing costs considerably. Moreover, although food guards exist that have adjustable shields, adjusting the positions of those shields is typically a cumbersome process that may require more than one operator.
Thus, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.